The Butler County press. [volume], August 07, 1931, Image 1

About The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946

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VOL. XXXI No. 17
New York City (ILNS)—At a
Iheetinff of the emergency committee
of the Urjitjed Textile Workers of
America held at headquarters here,
President Thomas P. McMahon an
nounced that reports submitted from
organizers and local officers through
out the textile industry indicate a
condition which threatens the future
of the industry, and one which de
ixiands the immediate consideration of
employers and their organizations.
"The United Textile Workers of
America," he said, "has advised all
local unions, North and South, to con
centrate their efforts on the adoption
of the maximum 48-hour work week
and if the employei-s refuse to accept
the proposal, then, organized and un
organized textile workers should
leave the mills and establish the
shorter work day and work week
themselves."
President McMahon stated that the
proposal of the maximum 48-hour
work week should do more to stabil
ize the industry, regulate- wages and
prices, and assist materially in the
elimination of cut-throat competition
and the destructive policy pursued
by some employers in cutting wages
and prices for their own personal gain
than anything he knows of. He said
the plan would give steadier employ
ment to the workers. The employ
ers who are fighting organized labor,
running long hours on low wages, ex
ploiting not only the workers but the
TRADE UNIONISTS
CALLEDBY DEATH
San Francisco (ILNS)—James W.
Mullen, editor of the San Francisco
Labor Clarion and chief of the state
bureau of labor statistics and law en
forcement, died here July 25. He was
born in Iowa in 1875 and learned the
printer's trade at Cedar Rapids. He
worked on a number of San Francisco
newspapers and v/as named editor of
the Clarion in 1911. He has earned
a reputation as a forceful trade union
writer.
In the World War Mr. Mullen was
a member of the draft board and of
the faif trade board. For 25 years
he has been a delegate to the San
Francisco Labor Council, representing
the Typographical Union.
Mr. Mullen was a member of the
state commission for the study of in
dustrial problems, appointed by Gov
Rolph.
Boston (ILNS)—Richard J. Kane,a
former secretary of the Lathers'
Union, a leading figure in the big
Lynn strike of 1894, died at his
Swampscott home July 25, of a heart
attack.
Washington, D. C. (ILNS)—Paul J.
Maas, veteran member of the Typo
graphical Union, veteran Chicago
newspaperman and for nearly 15
years employed by the Journal de
partment of the Bricklayers, Masons
and Plasterers' International Union,
died here July 24. Maas came here
from Indianapolis when the union
moved its headquarters here from that
city.
Ambulance Service
Phone 35
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''Take 48-Hour Week if Bosses
Don't Give It," Says U. T. W.
Emergency Committee of Textile Workers Calls on Indus
try to Save Itself, Pointing to Shorter Work Day and
Decent Wage as Vital to Stabilization and Decency
for Workers.
C. W. GATH CO
Funeral Directors
Saturday Specials
FRESH SHOULDER RIBS
Per pound
SMOKED CALA
HAMS
FANCY BOILING BEEF
Per pound
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Chicago Market Co.
Corner Front and High Sto. Telephone 4506
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industry, and interfering with the
constructive policy of fair employers
who see the handwriting on the wall,
are of course opposed to this plan,"
he said.
It was announced that the Associ
ated Silk Workers, formerly an inde
pendent union, has voted to affiliate
with the United Textile Workers of
America. Plans for the affiliation of
the two remaining independent
groups, the Lace Workers and the
American Federation of Textile
Opei-atives, in Fall River, Mass., and
elsewhere, are now under way.
HOFFMAN GETS
PRISON SENTENCE
AS STRIKE SEQUEL
"Conspiracy" Charges Pat
terned Like Joseph's Coat
Lead to Long Term Order
for Hosiery Organizer,
With Appeal Filed.
Stroudsburg, Pa. (ILNS)—Alfred
"Tiny" Hoffman, Full Fashioned Hos
iery Workers' organizer, has been
sentenced to prison again.
Hoffman was ordered to serve two
years and to pay a fine of $1,750 by
Judge Samuel E. ShuU, after the
judge had refused to order a new
trial. Hoffman was convicted on va
rious charges—conspiracy being the
j.':ood old standby charge—in which it
was alleged that the organizer con
spired to assault, commit malicious
mischief and tamper with automo
biles. Notice of appeal was filed and
Hoffman was released on $5,000 bail.
The charges grew out of the strike
against the Mammoth Hosiery Mills.
Hoffman's attorney pleaded with the
court against the sentence. He main
tained that Hoffman had a legal posi
tion with the union and had advised
the strikers against violence or any
unlawful acts.
Hoffman has had rough treatment
at the hands of the law in other
strikes. He, with Edward F. Mc
Grady, was "deported" from Eliza
bethton, Tenn., by some of that
town's "best people" during the strike
against the rayon barons of that city,
a crime for which no one has been
either arrested or punished. Hoffman
served a sentence in South Carolina
because of strike efforts.
Hoffman's breat bulk has earned
him the nickname "Tiny."
Hoffman's attorney assailed the
testimony of Mrs. Nellies Miller, after
witness for the state, as "unreliable
and incompetent because she was the
wife of one of the slayers of Alberta
Bachman."
The Bachman girl, a striker and
Sunday school teacher, was shot
fatally early in the strike. Her al
leged slayers are free on bail.
The lawyer attacked credibility of
the state's other witnesses on the
grounds their employment by the
Mammoth mill following their deser
tion of the strikers' ranks, robbed
their testimony of disin*eredness.
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Cleveland (ILNS)—The lockout of
cooks and waiters, in which the Mu
sicians and stationary engineers join
ed, came to an abrupt end late last
week after having lasted since July
15, 1930. The ending of the strike
is at least a moral victory for the
unions, though the anti-union Asso
ciated Industries of Cleveland, Inc.,
is doing its best to continue the ha
tred business and to minimize the
value of the union achievement.
The strike was ordered ended after
International President Edward Flore
met with the cooks and waiters and
announced to the members the terms
on which the battle could be stopped.
While there may be "off the record"
understandings, the chief known gain
is the abolishment of the individual
contract by the big hotels. That hate
ful instrument is definitely out of the
picture. It is understood that union
cooks and waiters will be employed
as rapidly as possible, though the ho
tels are making the old stall about
holding their present employes.
Conciliators Were Helpful
United States labor department
conciliators played a long and patient
part in the ending of the conflict. The
department has had A. L. Faulkner
and Charles Bendheim here and it was
Bendheim, says Faulkner, who finally
got into conference with W. Stiles
Koones, pi'esident of the hotel asso
ciation and manager of the Hotel
Winton. Koones does the high hat
business and says he had no confer
ences, but Bendheim gives the dates
and places of several meetings. The
first of these, Bendheim said, was
July 14, at the Winton.
Faulkner lets important light on
the question of why the big hotels
got weak knees after being picketed
for more than a year. He says the
bondholders were insisting strongly
that something be done. The pickets
had not missed a day and it is con
ceded that their work worried the
hotels. Several big conventions re
fused to go to Cleveland while the
strike was on.
The International Union says the
strike required the expenditure of
$165,000, of which $100,000 came out
of its own treasury. During the late
weeks of the strike the union leaders
have been critical of the slowing up
of help from other organizations.
Acted in Support
Musicians and engineers had no
grievance of their own and as a con
sequence have none to settle with the
ending of the fight. Their action is
regarded as forming a brilliant page
in the history of trade union solidar
ity.
It is believed certain here that no
other group of big hotels has ever
been subjected to such a long, vigor
ous and costly battle as the Cleveland
hotels have been subjected to by the
three unions in this conflict. It is be
lieved no similar hotel group will care
to risk such a conflict after the expe
rience of the hostelries here, and it
is believed the Cleveland hotels would
not care for a repetition.
In ending the strike the union was
compelled, for the time, to abandon
Musicians and Engineers Also End Long Fight
Big Hotels, Battered by Long Struggle, Worried By
Bondholders, Agree to End Individual Contract.
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Kraft
Year-Old. Cleveland Waiters'
Lockout Abruptly Ended
collective bargaining, but it maintains
its grip, its membership and its right
to protect its members against yellow
dog contracts. It is all important
that the union was the instrument
through which the strike was ended
and the men who return to work will
return as union members.
Best Could Get, Says Flore
"We do not feel so keen over the
settlement that we got," said Presi
dent Edward Flore, in a statement to
the membership, but he added that in
view of all things it was the best that
could be had. Flore transmitted to
the membership a copy of a letter
from President Koones, of the Hotel
Association, to U. S. Conciliator
Bendheim, in which abandonment of
the individual contract was specified
as having been in effect and in which
maintenance of wages was agreed to.
It also stipulated that there would be
no discrimination against .strikers in
filling vacancies.
RAILWAY CLERKS
FACING JOB LOSS
New York City (ILNS)—Demand
ing that no railroad clerks be dis
missed in the consolidation program,
Vice President R. J. Chapman, of the
Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, has
been in conference with G. Walter
Hanger, of the U. S. Board of Medi
ation, and with officials of the New
York Central.
The issue arises out of the New
York Central's program for bringing
into its organization the Michigan
Central and the Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Chicago and St. Louis railroads.
It is said that unless the Brother
hood's negotiations are successful the
consolidation program will call for
dismissal of 155 clerks and removal
of 858 clerks and their families to new
homes in other cities. Employes who
would be involved in the general
shifting now live in New York, Det
roit, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
While this dispute is on the boards
1,107 railroad employes and their
families are moving from this city
an dits suburbs to Cleveland, because
of the transfer of offices of the Erie
road. Of these 138 have gone and the
remainder expect to have completed
the transfer by late September. Most
of the Erie employes live in nearby
New Jersey towns.
World War Soldiers
Join Out-of-Work Army
Indianapolis, Ind.—Officials of the
American Legion will give active co
operation to the employment service
for veterans of the U. S. department
of labor. Because of the large num
bers of the World War soldiers who
are out of work it is feared in offi
cial circles that even the combined
efforts of the legion and the depart
ment will be unable to adequately
meet the problem. Connecting the
soldier out-of-works with jobs is the
major method of relief. The main
thing is to find the jobs.
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ROCKY ROAD FOR
WAGE CUTTERS IN
INDIANA CAPITAL
Movie Houses Cut Off Musi
cians Who Refuse Reduc
tions, But in Other Fields
the Destructionists Hoe a
Hard Row Full of Real
Indianapolis, Ind. (ILNS)—Deflat
ing the workers' wages despite the
advice of President Hoover to keep
them up appears to be intriguing cer
tain employers in this section. Musi
cians employed at two Indianapolis
moving picture theatres where stage
shows are put on refused to accept
a drastic reduction in wages. After
brief parleying the management of
the theatres announced that stage
shows would be discontinued and
nothing but pictures shown—and with
"canned" music.
The Indiana Theatre, under the
management of Skouras Bros., who
control a string of Publix theatres,
will discontinue stage shows and show
pictures exclusively. The Lyric The
atre, a vaudeville house, which has
been showing pictures with six acts
of vaudeville, will be a picture house
exclusively, thus leaving Indianapolis
without vaudeville shows or stage en
tertainments of any kind. Forty or
fifty musicians are affected.
Another attempt to reduce wages of
workers on Marion county highways
evidently has failed, as the county
commissioners refused to adopt the
suggestion of the county road super
intendent to cut wages of common la
bor to 35 cents an hour. The com
missioners declared these workers
were not receiving enough money and
that instead of cutting their pay they
should receive a raise.
The superintendent of the city san
itary department, under which the
street cleaners and garbage plant
personnel work, recommended a re^
duction in wages of some 300 em
ployes in order to reduce city taxes,
making a saving of some $50,000 a
year. It was pointed out that ao
called economics practiced in the san
itary department would not only be a
health menace through the slowing up
of necessary work, but would throw
a burden on the workers in these de*
partments, forcing them to carry a
tax reduction which should be carried
by all departments of city work. It
was also shown that instead of work
ers in these departments drawing
higher pay than similar workers in
other cities they were actually draw
ing less.
It was declared that if a pay cut
was to be made it should affect every
department of city government except
wages and salaries set by law. It is
not now believed that the reduction
will go into effect.
With the exception of the theatre
musicians, who lost their jobs because
they would not accept a wage cut, the
deflation program is having a rocky
road.
In the frank expression of conflict
ing opinion lies the greatest promise
of wisdom in governmental action
and in suppression lies ordinarily the
greatest peril.—Justice Branded
1 i 1
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HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 7,1931 ONE DOLLAR PER TEAR
i
n v
Would Produce.
Tremendous interest has been
aroused by the national organizing
campaign of labor's national commit
tee for modification of the Volstead
act, Secretary-Treasurer I. M. Orn
burn announced here this week.
A new feature of the campaign is
enlistment of trade union newspapers
in the campaign as organizing posts
Every day brings applications from
newspapers to serve in the big fight.
"We are immensely encouraged by
results thus far," said Secretary Orn
burn. "Membership applications art
coming in rapidly and plans now ma
turing will bring them even faster.
The great problem is to get organ
izers to those who want to join our
fight.
"We have a number of plans under
consideration and within a few days I
expect we shall have important an-
U. S. LUMBERMEN
WAKING UP
New Orleans (ILNS)—Co-opera
tion in American business is more
necessary today than ever before be
cause of the interdependence of va
rious lines of manufacturing and be
cause Russia is "out to wreck the
world markets," said Walter
Scales, manager of the New Orleans
office of the National Lumber Manu
facturers' Association. "We know
positively that Russian lumber on
which there has been complaint comes
from seized lands costing the Russian
government nothing, and that the
lumber is produced by convict or
forced labor.
"Russia is out to wreck the com
petitive markets to gain entrance for
her products. She has wrecked the
Scandanavian and Finnish lumber
i n u s i e s e o a i z e W e s e n
Europe's lumber market, and put that
of England into a turmoil."
Mr. Scales also pointed out -that
Russia is considering exporting cotton
to the United States under similar
conditions, and asked what effect this
might have upon Louisiana, if co
operation of business and the govern
ment is not realized to prevent it.
A S
I
'212
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Anti-Volstead Crusade Gathers
Speed, Secretary Ornburn Says
At National Headquarters He Reports Steady Influx of
Members in Movement to Restore Freedom—Secre
tary Points to Volume
Huge
sale of
HOOVER
!'Specials
Down
Balaoce Monthly
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K-R-E-B-S
THIRD COURT
"HIGH QUALITY—LOW PRICE"
1 n
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of Employment Modification
nouncements to make. One thing is
sure: Labor is determined to win this
battle for several reasons. One rea
son—the prime reason—is the restor
ation of freedom destroyed by Vol
steadism. Another is the vast amount
of employment involved. It is amaz
ing that at a time when employment
is so sadly needed our country should
remain indifferent to this vast vol
ume of employment which could be
made available almost overnight."
MOONEY TRIAL
WITNESS DEAD
Frank C. Oxman, most important
witness for the prosecution in the
trial of Thomas J. Mooney, died fit,
Durkee, Ore., on the fifteenth anni
versary of the San Francisco Prepar
edness parade bombing, for which
Mooney and Warren K. Billings are
serving life sentences. Oxman testi
fied at the trial that he saw Mooney
and Billing set down a suitcase at
the corner where the explosion oc
curred and walk away.
After the trial, the defense attack
ed Oxman's testimoney and he was
indicted on charges of subordination
of perjury and later of perjury. He
was acquitted of the subordination
charge and the other was dropped.
Other witnesses for the prosecution
recanted their testimony and the
judge who tried Mooney and the liv
ing members of the jury which con
victed him have since declared their
belief in his innocence, charging that
he was convicted on perjured testi
mony.
PLATE PRINTERS TAKE
ACTION TO HELP IDLE
Philadelphia (ILNS)—In conven
tion her*-the International Union
Plate Printers and Die Stampers,
makers of money for Uncle Sam,
made plans for assessment of work
ing members for the benefit of un
employed members and declared for
rotation of work.
Previous models reconstructed
at the Hoover factory
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W,incut THIS
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These bargain Hoovers were
completely gone over and rebuilt
by Hoover experts and are guaxv
anteed for one year, the same at
new Hoovers. New ball-bearing,
beating-sweeping brush new
cord, bag and belt. Dusting Tools,
available at slight extra cost
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